167 East 61st Street (Trump Plaza)
167 East 61st Street, New York, NY 10065
- Year built
- 1984
Trump Plaza is Donald Trump's deliberate cooperative — built when he chose the more selective coop structure over the easier condominium format. Trump told the NYT: "I wanted to buck the trend. There are a lot of people who want to live in a cooperative. […] Many people find a co-op's exclusivity, the unity it gives a building, comforting."
The structural identity rests on three features. First, the Y-shaped (trefoil) plan with five apartments per floor — Philip Birnbaum's unusual configuration for the 154-unit cooperative. Second, the wrap-around bronze-topped balconies and the two-story lobby waterfall — distinctive design gestures. Third, the 2014 ground-lease purchase — the building's transformation from a 40-year ground lease (originally with annual rent of approximately $1.2 million through 2023) to a fee-simple cooperative when the coop corporation purchased the underlying land for $190 million.
Paul Goldberger reviewed Trump Plaza for the NYT with notable bemusement: the building "looks as if it might be the finest building in Caracas — all of this sleekness is chic in a particularly Latin way, quite uncharacteristic of New York, despite the lavish use of limestone."
Recent sales
As of mid-2020s, post-land-purchase pricing has improved meaningfully from the depressed 2014-2018 land-lease-overhang period. Specific recent closings should be sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers.
What to know if you’re buying
The 2014 land purchase eliminated the ground-lease overhang. Building is now fee-simple; this is a structural pricing event versus the 2014-2018 land-lease-overhang period.
The Trump-developed cooperative structure is structurally distinguishing. Most Trump-developed buildings are condominiums; the cooperative format was a deliberate choice.
The Philip Birnbaum Y-shaped plan with five apartments per floor is operationally distinctive.
The Paul Goldberger "finest building in Caracas" review is real architectural-criticism context.
The international resident profile and the Brown/George/Clark/Navratilova historical roster anchor cultural-history positioning.
Comparable buildings
- The Excelsior (303 East 57th Street) — Birnbaum 1967; same-architect Midtown East peer
- The Galleria (117 East 57th Street) — Specter 1975; nearby Midtown East peer
- The Sovereign (425 East 58th Street) — Roth & Sons 1973-74; nearby Sutton/Midtown East peer
- Olympic Tower (641 Fifth Avenue) — SOM 1976; nearby Midtown East peer
- 502 Park Avenue (Trump Park Avenue) — Trump / Kondylis conversion 2005; nearby Trump-developed peer
The Roebling Team at Trump Plaza
Corey Cohen · The Roebling Team at Compass 646.939.7375 · c.cohen@compass.com
Sources: Wikipedia (Trump Plaza New York City); CityRealty building 5195; The Real Deal, June 15, 2015 ("Land-lease co-op owners fear rising rents"); Brick Underground, November 2014 ("Trump Plaza Update"); Paul Goldberger, NYT, August 16, 1984 ("Defining Luxury in New York's New Apartments"); NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers.